Two killed in separate hunting accidents in northern France

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Two people were killed at the weekend, including a teenager, during separate hunting expeditions that went tragically wrong, both in the same part of France.

A teenage boy was the first to be killed on Saturday morning during a hunt with ten others in Perriers-sur-Andelle, in the northern France department of Seine-Maritime (see map below).

It's understood he was accidentally shot in the face at close range while walking behind an older hunter, and died shortly after he was hit, reported France Bleu channel.

The 54-year-old man responsible for the shooting was taken into police custody was later released.

At around the same time on Saturday, a 68-year-old man was killed in Elbeuf, also in the Seine-Maritime department, after he was hit in the head by a bullet that had ricocheted when another hunter had aimed for a wild boar.

The man is said to have died instantly.

Photo: GoogleMaps

The deaths mark the third in the past four weeks for the department after another man was killed in late October.

Alain Durand, the head of the department's hunting federation, said the series of accidents was "unbelievable".

"I've been the president for fifteen years and I've only ever seen one accident, and that was three years ago," he told France Bleu.

He said that the federation took safety extremely seriously, and was strict in giving out permits.

While investigations are still underway into Saturday's deaths, Durand said that the federation was treating the matter with the utmost seriousness.

"The police will let me know what has happened, but if there was any recklessness then our federation will not be lenient with the hunters in question," he told the channel.